Can the Landlord delay the move in date after accepting my application just 3 days before the move-in date ?

Question

I signed the papers to move in for august 9th and now just 3 days before the move in date, the landlord called and said that the apt is not ready since they need to do some plumbing work for one more week,

the rental apt is in CA

the problem is that i already paid for the renters insurance which cannot be shifted and so for the last week of the year i will have to get an entire year's worth of insurance just because they shifted the dates at the last moment...

Answer 1

I don't believe there is anything in the statute that would govern this, but there may be some common law out there to help you. For that, call legal aid or an attorney.

If there isn't a law, it will come down to the lease contract. Most professionally written leases contain a clause in regards to Possession, which will state that if the landlord cannot give you the keys for whatever reason, you don't owe him any rent. However, it will also say that he is not liable for any damages you incur, such as being out insurance money.

Personally, I would talk to the insurer again. Seems rather strange that you would be paying to insure something you don't actually have possession of....

Answer 2

If the only thing you're worried about is the insurance, you're doing pretty well.  As long as you're not running into a problem with not having a place to stay or additional expenses (for movers, etc), then there may be a simple way to handle this.

If insurance is the only problem, talk with the agent. I can't believe they won't change the effective date.  It hasn't taken effect yet, so you should be able to cancel the policy for a full refund.  Then you can get a new policy for the correct date.  If that's what happens, find another agent because the guy you have isn't going to be very helpful when you have an actual problem.

Now if do you have those other problems of additional expenses, you should talk to you new landlord about a reasonable accommodation.  I'd be asking for a rent credit.  

If he's not willing to at least meet you halfway, then again find someone else.  If they're not reasonable BEFORE you move in, things will just get worse later!